Whip



Dec. 5, 1967 c. HENRY 3,356,294

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Filed May l?, 1966 INVENTOR COL OA/Z HEM? Y .ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,356,294 WHIP Colonel Henry, Box 1, Lawton, Iowa 51030 Filed May 12, 1966, Ser. No. 549,531

5 Claims. (Cl. 231-2) This invention relates to an improved whip for use by stockmen, for example, and more particularly to an improved Whip having good characteristics in use and which is extremely rugged and durable.

Whip devices for use by cattlemen and stockmen, for example, normally employ an elongated flexible shaft with a handle at one end and a popper element at the other. The transverse motion which the operator sets up in the ilexible shaft by manipulation of the handle is transmitted to the popper element, causing it to attain the high velocity which is incident to the production of the popping or cracking sound of the Whip. In the past, it has been the practice to encase the flexible shaft in a cover of rawhide or other flexible material, the cover extending beyond the end of the shaft to provide a more flexible drop portion, and then to secure a popper to the free end of the cover material. Materials such as a braided polyethylene plastic material have also been used for this purpose in the past.

Conventional whips constructed as outlined above are subject to several disadvantages. A rawhide cover, for example, while attractive in appearance, is subject to rapid deterioration during use, the material not being sufllciently rugged to withstand weather and dirty conditions of use over an extended period of time. The conventionally constructed whip with a braided polyethylene cover is much superior to a rawhide covered whip but also suffers from certain disadvantages. Particularly, the polyethylene cover is relatively light in Weight so that as the Whip is conventionally constructed, the mass of the drop portion and the outer end of the flexible shaft is relatively low. Thus, greater forces are required to accelerate these parts to the velocity required to produce the desired cracking sound. Moreover, the braided polyethylene cover can be easily penetrated by the free end of the flexible shaft, resulting in a whip which is unsightly in appearance and which will not operate properly.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved whip which has good balance so that it can be easily operated. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a whip construction employing a flexible shaft and a braided polyethylene cover in which the cover is arranged so that sufllcient mass is available in the drop portion and outer end of the whip to provide it with good balance.

It is another object of the invention to provide a rugged and durable whip device employing a flexible shaft and a braided cover thereon, the cover being arranged in such a manner that it is difficult if not impossible for the free end of the flexible shaft to penetrate through the braided cover tothe exterior thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a whip device in which the foregoing objects. are accomplished in an extremely simple manner and by employing no additional parts over those which have been mentioned hereinabove.

Briefly, the objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a whip in which the braided cover is initially made longer than usual, the terminal end of the cover then being inverted into the hollow center of the cover. The terminal end of the cover is then passed back toward` the flexible shaft and over the outer free end thereof so that a double layer is formed which begins at a point on the flexible shaft short of the free end thereof and extends to the end of the drop portion of the whip. This ar- 3,356,294 Patented Dec. 5, 1967 rangement provides at least two important advantages. One is that it is much more difficult if not impossible for the free end of the flexible shaft to penetrate the double layer. Another advantage is that the additional material of the double cover provides greater mass at the outer end ofthe whip, resulting in better balance.

Other objects, advantages and new features of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a plan View of a Whip constructed in accordance with the present invention, a portion of the braided cover having been broken away to show the flexible shaft therewithin;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section through the whip in the vicinity of the free end of the flexible shaft, showing the inverted construction of the braided cover, and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the attachment of the popper to the end of the whip.

With reference now to FIGURE 1, a whip in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at 10. Whip 10 has a central flexible shaft 12, made of reinforced plastic material or the like, and being tapered from a larger diameter at the handle end thereof to a smaller diameter at the opposite end, it being understood that such taper contributes to the flexibility of the shaft 12.

Shaft 12 is covered or encased in a tubular braided cover 14 which may be made of braided polyethylene, for example. A handle 16 is provided at one end of the whip 10 and the cover 14 is constructed so as to provided a more flexible section 17 beyond the end of the shaft, usually called a drop portion. A popper 18 of nylon, for example, is attached to the section 17 at its free end.

As mentioned generally above, the braided cover is constructed so as to form a double layer in surrounding relation to the shaft near the free end thereof, the double layer being indicated generally by the reference numeral 20. The thickness of double layer 20 has been exaggerated in FIGURE 1. Double layer 20 is formed by initially making the braided cover 14 extend beyond end 22 of shaft 12 by an amount substantially in excess of twice the length required to form section 17. The terminal end of the braided cover 14 designated 24 is then inverted into the central hollow interior of the cover 14 and is passed back toward shaft 12 and forced between the shaft 12 and the braided cover 14 so as to constitute the inner layer of the double layer 20. As shown, the double layer 20 extends over a substantial portion of the length of the flexible shaft 12. Preferably, the length which is covered by the double layer 20 is approximately 18 to 20% of the total length of the flexible shaft 12.

Section 17 of whip 10 is defined as stated above by that portion of the double layer 20 which extends beyond the terminal end 22 of the flexible shaft 12. The free end of the drop section 17 is designated at 26 and is the point Where the braided cover 14 is folded in on itself. As suggested in FIGURE 2, the popper element 18 is secured to the drop portion 17 in the vicinity of the end 26, this being conveniently accomplished by interweaving a portion of the popper element with the braided cover.

This construction excellently fulfills the object set forth hereinabove. Of particular importance is the fact that the objects and advantages of the invention are accomplished by a structure requiring no additional parts.

It will be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as herein specically described.

I claim:

1. A whip comprising an elongated shaft having a handle end and an outer end including a terminal end and a tubular cover in surrounding relation to said shaft, said S. A Whip in accordance with claim 4 further compriscover being inverted into itself so as to form a double ing handle means at the 6nd 0f Said Core OPPOS@ from layer covering a substantial length ofthe outer end of said Said terminal end and a POPPCT element Secured t0 Said shaft and extending to a point Substantially beyond the double layer at S Outer free endterminal end of said shaft. 5

2. A whip in accordance with claim 1, said double References Clted layer covering about 18 to 20% of the length of said shaft. UNITED STATES PATENTS 3. A Whip in accordance with claim 1 wherein said 1,157,424 10/1915 Schmidt 231-2 cover is made of braided material. 3,136,480 6/1964 ONeill 23:1*2

tel'ial is polyethylene. ALDRICH F. MEDBERY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A WHIP COMPRISING AN ELONGATED SHAFT HAVING A HANDLE END AND AN OUTER END INCLUDING A TERMINAL END AND A TUBULAR COVER IN SURROUNDING RELATION TO SAID SHAFT, SAID COVER BEING INVERTED INTO ITSELF SO AS TO FORM A DOUBLE LAYER COVERING A SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH OF THE OUTER END OF SAID SHAFT AND EXTENDING TO A POINT SUBSTANTIALLY BEYOND THE TERMINAL END OF SAID SHAFT. 